Writer Eric Red had teased last year that 1986 classic The Hitcher was finally getting a Blu-ray release, and the release was subsequently confirmed by Second Sight Films. Second Sight, the company behind the recent 4K Ultra HD release of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, had unfortunately also revealed, however, that a 4K release would not be possible.
But that bad news has now changed, with Second Sight confirming this week that they’ve managed to track down the original camera negative, meaning a 4K release is now happening!
The UK company announced this morning, “We’ve tracked down the [original camera] negative!! We will be doing a full restoration for a 4K and Blu-ray release later this year!”
Second Sight is a UK company, so the Blu-ray release will likely be locked to Region B. As for the 4K release, those are inherently Region Free, so no worries there. Hallelujah!
Released in 1986, The Hitcher starred the late Rutger Hauer as a murderous hitchhiker and C. Thomas Howell as the young man who makes the mistake of picking him up. The film was written by Eric Red (Near Dark, Bad Moon), and directed by Robert Harmon.
Happy New Year everyone! And to kick of 2022 some very exciting news on THE HITCHER! We’ve tracked down the negative!!
Thanks to Warner’s archive team for allowing us access, we will be doing a full restoration for 4K/Blu-ray release later this year. #TheHitcher pic.twitter.com/k0C9V9BMfp
— Second Sight (@SecondSightFilm) January 4, 2022